Financing still in question for Milford casino

Following the realization at the gaming commission hearing on Wednesday that the Milford casino developers are lacking a majority equity partner, opponents are questioning the financing of the proposal while the developers say they're just days away from naming a partner.

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Posted Nov. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 15, 2013 at 3:05 PM

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Posted Nov. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 15, 2013 at 3:05 PM

MILFORD

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Following the realization at the gaming commission hearing on Wednesday that the Milford casino developers are lacking a majority equity partner, opponents are questioning the financing of the proposal while the developers say they're just days away from naming a partner.

The director of the commission’s investigative bureau did not issue a recommendation on whether the developers from Crossroads Massachusetts LLC, who have proposed a $1 billion, 980,000-square-foot resort-casino in Milford, should be found suitable given that 55 percent of their funding has not been identified.

With just days to go before Milford votes on the project on Nov. 19, some are questioning how this news will affect the decision residents make at the ballot box.

Casino developers are confident they’ll have the issue resolved in the coming days and in a way that will appease voters.

“I’m 110 percent comfortable, I know what we have and I know where we’re headed,” said the project’s Chief Development Officer David Nunes on Thursday.

Scott Butera, president and CEO of Foxwoods, a 10 percent partner and manager of the proposed casino, said they are currently considering two “strong” offers for the partnership.

One is a private equity fund that has been involved in gaming and was licensed in other jurisdictions, Butera said. That offer would provide $350 million in equity for the project. The other offer is from a publicly traded entity that would fund the real estate portion of the development and the casino would essentially rent from them.

“This is yet another example that Foxwoods management doesn’t have their act together,” said Casino-Free Milford Co-Chairman John Seaver. “It’s incredible that here we are, four days before the Milford vote and Foxwoods doesn’t have the majority financing lined up.”

His Co-Chairman Steve Trettel said he was surprised to see their lack of an equity partner, but wished the commission had been harder on them at the hearing.

“We are focused on the election, that’s all that’s important, because we’re not going to get help from the commission,” Trettel said.

Butera told the commission the delay in finding a majority equity partner resulted from the rigorous vetting process in Milford. He said investors wanted to see they had a deal with the town before agreeing to partner.

“The mere fact that’s its been delayed doesn’t really change my opinion,” said Selectman Brian Murray. “In my view, this is really between Foxwoods and the gaming commission. They need to satisfy (the commission’s) requirements if they want to move forward.”

Professor Clyde Barrow, the director of the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth, said he was also surprised, having followed the casino projects across the state, to see such a large portion of the funding unidentified at this point.

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“It was pretty surprising that they were looking for so much,” Barrow said.

Barrow said, though, that it is unclear what this means in terms of the gaming commission granting suitability. The developers need a positive suitability determination to file the next phase application due on Dec. 31.

“The commission was noncommittal and even a little evasive. I really think they don’t know what to do,” Barrow said. “They raised some red flags, but that doesn’t mean they’ll find them unsuitable.”

Barrow noted the commission does face a dilemma that if they were to find the Foxwoods project unsuitable, it’d likely be left with only one applicant for the eastern Massachusetts casino license - casino developer Steven Wynn's proposal for a casino in Everett, which has already received voter approval.

Contact Lindsay Corcoran at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @LacorcMDN.